Skid steer tires

Bought a used skid recently. Front tires are 10%, back tires are 50%. I thought about replacing 2 and asked on here what to do.

Some said "put the new ones on the front".
Some said "put the new ones on the back".
Some said "put the new ones on the same side".

One person said to do it correctly and replace all 4. So that's what I'm going to do. The tires are 27x8.5x15

I found a really good deal on 28x8.5x15 tires. Would there be any problem with putting the 28's on there instead of 27's?

Front ones obviously wear faster than rear. Put new ones on the front, and by the time they're wore out, the back will be too, then get 4 new ones.

As far a traction is concerned, its all wheel drive, shouldn't make a nickel's worth of difference.

The ones that tell you that it does not make any difference if you mix new and worn are WRONG!!!!!! If you mix front to back each side is hooked together with gears or a chain(depends on the brand) so with different amounts of wear then the larger of the two is doing more pulling. If you mix side to side then one side is turning a different speed than the other so you would be having to steer all of the time to go straight. Either is putting more strain on the drive line.

They usually will wear out the better tire fastest. I have always rotated mine front to back so they have about the same wear. The fronts usually wear the fastest as when you are turning loaded they have the most load and therefore wear the most.

As for your "new" question. Yes replacing them in a set is the best way. As for using 28x8.5x15 rather than the 27x8.5x15 tires. The 28 should work fine as long as they are not too wide. In some brands the larger number tires have a recessed bead. So the larger number is not taller but wider. If they are that way you may not have enough clearance. If they are locally available I would have one mounted and measure it to make sure it will clear on the back side. As for the height, the extra inch would not make enough difference to cause any issues. Just make sure you have clearance on the back as some brand of skid steers don't have much there to start with. I used to own a Thomas brand of skid steer. You could barely put your fingers between the tire and side of it. I really had to watch and not let mud/manure build up there. I have seen guys wear the inside side wall out with mud/dry manure.

Using the unit on dry concrete, manure covered concrete, hayfield or snow and mud?

When crowding into a dirt pile the rear tends to lift, losing traction. When back dragging, the front gets light, unless the hyd is set to "float", which is less aggressive.

As long as you're not going through any real tight overhead areas and you have a modest amount of clearance against the frame I don't see why you will have any problem with the size change. That's only 1" on the height which is not a big deal....
As far as this debate about odd sizes... I'm sorry... but if you run a skid any amount of time and place any value on a dollar... you will at some point run odd sizes, mixed sets, half worn tires, ETC. The difference it will make to the machine is so close to non-existent that it's not worth thinking about. Some machines will wear tires fairly evenly. Some will scuff the fronts off if they're doina a particular chore continously. Others will spin the rears off faster because they do a lot of pushing and hte fronts are in the air more than they're on the ground. More often than not my machine will scuff it's fronts off but I have at times seen it tear the back ones down quickly...
I just don't see the point of getting all bent out of shape over it. I keep a spare wheel here most times and throw that on when I get a flat... so it's obviously not the best tire in the fleet. It may not be mounted in the right direction for the side it's on... It may not even be the same profile/aspect ratio as the others that are on the machine.
I've never seen ~any~ adverse wear on the drive chains as a result... and this machine has had EVERY chance to destroy chains prematurely.
Just throw a set on it and don't worry about it.

Rod

fwiw, when i was running nh L325s, which had that size tire, i found that all weather P205/75R15 car tires have the same profile, work and last just as good, and are considerably cheaper than the regular skid steer tires.

If you ran 4x4 SUV down the road with tires of significant size difference it would tear up the transfer case quickly. If you ran it exclusively on snow it would never affect the gears. It all depends on the traction as B&D and ROD are saying. It is a SKID steer. it is designed for the tires to be constantly slipping with respect to each other.

Skidsteers are generally used on so many surfaces that most put on bar type tires. Any thing less means you have a helpless machine. If you put tires on it for cement only, chances are you are going to take it off the cement and into the dirt and be helpless. Only SSL at factories are equipped with tires good for concrete. Using them in the dirt is dangerous with the wrong tires.

I have a 1840 case that has the same size tires made by different manufactures. All the tires are different somehow. I have the two larger looking ones on the rear and the smaller looking ones on the front. AND before someone tells me if the size is the same the tires are the same that cant be. I run chains in winter that fit one but wont go around the others..Dont know why but diff.

I need a set of that size. Where did you find that deal and how much are they???

Ditto that! My CL-20 hasn't had four of the same size tires since 1982

The 4 tires are $340 delivered. Look on the "bay" and you'll find them if you put in the search term "28/8.50x15". Tucker Tire ia the place.

thanks.